Historic Hanna's Town

I can't believe it's been six months since my last post.  So much for posting something each week!  But, as some of you know, we've discovered ancestors from another branch of the family tree who were passengers on the Mayflower and researching them has kept me from keeping up with the posts regarding the research on our Klingensmith ancestors.  Well, with any luck, I'll be able to post more frequently in the coming months.

So why, after 6 months, have I decided to add to my blog?  Well, just yesterday (July 6, 2013), my Mom, my niece Samantha and I visited Historic Hanna's Town in Greensburg, PA, to watch a re-enactment of actual court cases that were tried at the court in Hanna's Town during colonial and Revolutionary War times.  One of our cousins, a member of the I.B.W.C.P. Proctors Militia Re-enactment Group, portrayed one of the accused, so we didn't want to miss it!

Hanna's Town was the first English Court west of the Allegheny Mountains and many cases were tried there between 1773 and 1786.

In addition to the court cases, the great thing about visiting Hanna's Town is that it is a place where our ancestors would've walked.  Did they live in Hanna's Town?  No, but as they lived in Westmoreland County and Hanna's Town, at the time, was the county seat of Westmoreland County, they would have visited from time to time.

Our ancestors, John "Blockhouse" Philip & Catherine (Walthour) Klingensmith, built their blockhouse in Jeannette, Westmoreland County, PA*.  Our Caldwell ancestors, Samuel and Elizabeth (Grimes) Caldwell, lived in Salem Twp, Westmoreland County, PA.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, "Blockhouse" Philip was believed to be among the signers of the Hanna's Town Resolves (document directly challenging British authority), which were signed in Hanna's Town in May 1775.

Regarding our visit yesterday, in addition to watching the reenactment of the court sessions, and touring the buildings at Hanna's Town, we had a great time visiting with our cousins Tom and Wade and Wade's son, Wade, and meeting three additional Klingensmith cousins!  So in all, there were 9 Klingensmith decendants present yesterday!

Tom, Wade and Wade are all a part of the Militia re-enactment group, which gave several demonstrations throughout the day, teaching visitors about life in the Militia, weapons they used, etc.

Pictures of the day have been posted to the Caldwell Oswald Family Reunion Group on Facebook, if you'd like to check them out.  If you're not a part of the Group, please let me know.

Before I finish this post, I wanted to share this link, which is one account of how Philip & Christina Klingensmith died.  July 2, 2013, marked the 232nd anniversary of their death.

During the raid, one of their children, John Peter, was captured and was raised by his captors.  The link below tells his amazing story.

http://noel.mcn.org/Westmoreland/WhitePeter.htm

Thanks for reading!  As always, please feel free to ask questions, post comments, etc.

Angie

*I wanted to correct a mistake in one of my earlier posts.  The blockhouse built by Philip was built in the area now know as Jeannette, not Hempfield Twp., as I had originally posted.

As a matter of fact, it's thought to have been built near where the Elliott Company now stands.

Ok, onto my first actual genealogy post.  As I mentioned before, I spent about a year doing really interesting and rewarding research connecting the generations starting with mine and going back in time to my 6xs Great-Grandfather, John Phillip Klingensmith.  So, I'm going to start by telling you about him and his second wife, my 6xs Great-Grandmother, Christina Walthour Klingensmith.

There's really so much to tell about these two, I'll probably post more than one entry to get all of their information in.  But to start, here goes.

John Phillip Klingensmith, more commonly known as "Blockhouse" Phillip, was born the same year as George Washington himself - 1732.  He was born in the colonies, although I haven't confirmed just where yet, but I'm fairly certain somewhere in eastern Pennsylvania.  I do know for certain that, at some point, he settled land in Hempfield Twp., Westmoreland County, PA, and built a blockhouse.  Just a short side note - Hempfield Twp. is not that far from Pittsburgh.

So, what is a blockhouse?  Blockhouses were built as a type of fort that would serve as protection from enemies and other dangers for the family and surrounding neighbors.  In Blockhouse Phillip's day, their main concern was the frequent Native American attacks.  To learn more about the blockhouses in Pennsylvania, including information on Blockhouse Phillip's house click here.

Alright, back to Phillip.  One of the most interesting things I've learned about him is that he is believed* to be among the signers of the Hannas Town Resolves.  What are the Hannas Town Resolves, you ask?  Well, before I get to that, I should first tell you that, at the time, Hannas Town was the county seat of Westmoreland County.  Also, its important to keep in mind the time frame we're talking about - the mid- to late-1700s.  This was the time in our country's history when the colonists were experiencing and losing patience with Great Britain's oppressive heavy hand. 

So, not long before the Hannas Town Resolves were signed, there was a little incident in Boston.  You may have heard of it - the Boston Tea Party :-)  Well, after the Boston Tea Party, Great Britain really cracked down on Massachusettes with an increased presence of British soldiers, cutting off Massachusettes Bay, which restricted shipping and trade, etc.

Well, the folks in PA got wind of this and didn't want the same treatment coming down on them as was being forced on Boston.  So, they decided to do something about it - they wrote and signed the Hannas Town Resolves; one of the most direct challenges to British authority preceding the Declaration of Independence (taken from Wikipedia's article on the Hanna's Town Resolves).

Well everyone, it's getting late, so I'm going to continue the story of Phillip & Christina later on in the week.  In the meantime, if you're interested in reading the Hanna's Town Resolves, click here.  I highly recommend it.

Oh, one more thing.  For members of my family who may be reading this and wondering how/if you're connected to John Phillip & Christina, they are ancestors of Herbert Miller Caldwell.  So, if you're a descendent of Herbert Miller Caldwell, and you know who you are, you're also a descendent of Phillip & Christina.

*The reason genealogists and researchers strongly believe that Phillip was among the signers is due to the fact that he was a prominent settler in the area as well as the owner of a blockhouse.  Unfortunately, Hannas Town was burned in an Indian raid and the town's original documents were burned as well, so we do not have any copies of the Resolves with signatures.  We know what they said though, thanks to the Resolves being printed in a number of local newspapers of the time.  Fortunately, those newspapers have preserved an important piece of history.

Ok, so now that you know a little about my passion for genealogy, we'll get into the good stuff.

Each week I'll post something new about my family's ancestors and how I came to find the information.

In early 2011, my Mom and I found an ancestor listed in my great-uncle's research who was also listed as a Revolutionary War Patriot on the DAR Genealogical Research System. 

Well, it just so happens that my favorite period in American History is Colonial History through the Civil War.  So, imagine my excitement when I learned that one of my ancestors was a Patriot!

Although he was listed as my ancestor in my uncle's book, there wasn't a lot in the way of proof, so that was my goal - to track down all of the necessary documents to prove each generation between me and my 6Xs great-grandfather, John Phillip Klingensmith of Pennsylvania.

Welcome to Angie's Genealogy Pursuits

Welcome to my genealogy blog! I'm so excited to share the information I've uncovered with my family as well as others who have an interest.

This is actually my first attempt at blogging, so keeping my fingers crossed that it's not only informative, but interesting to all my readers as well. My goal with this blog is two-part: 1) to be able to share information with my family in a way that allows them to ask questions and contribute to our family's research, and 2) to be able to share the things I've learned along the way as an amateur genealogist.

Well, moving on. I suppose I should start by telling you about my fascination with genealogy. I've had an interest in history for a long time and history and genealogy, of course, go hand in hand. Imagine how much more interesting history becomes when you think of your ancestors having lived through the different time periods. Were my ancestors among the Pilgrims? Were they Revolutionary War Patriots or were they Tories? Were they Union or Confederate? I have a such a yearning to know as much about my ancestors as possible and when I think of them living through the early colonial times, the Revolutionary War era, the Civil War era, the Great Depression, it makes history really come alive for me.  It also helps to shed some light on family dynamics. You wouldn't think that generations so far back would have much in common with their descendents of the present age, but from my own research I've found that that's not the case at all. 

My research began in the early 1990s when my great-uncle Eddie presented a 3" or 4" binder to my grandfather, chock full of family history.  I had an interest in genealogy, but had no idea where to start. But, when I saw this binder, it was all the motivation I needed to begin my trek down the genealogy path and learn how to properly research my family tree. 

The information he uncovered BEFORE the Internet was so widely used, was amazing to me.  He actually visited the places my ancestors lived and met distant cousins. The history and stories he uncovered were nothing short of phenomenal. He put together a priceless family archive that needed to be kept alive and growing.

So, that's how my interest in genealogy turned into a full-fledged passion. I wanted to continue and expand his work on my mother's side of the family as well as research my father's ancestry.

Please feel free to ask questions and post comments.  I'd love to hear from you!

I really hope you enjoy!